Multiple aerofoil construction.



A. CROSS.

MULTIPLE AEROFOIL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. $1918- 1,270,601 Patented June 25, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

3 vwc nfoz A. CROSS. MULTIPLE AEROFOIL CONSTRUCTION Patented June 25,1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLlCATlON FILED APR. 9.1918.

A. CROSS.

MULTIPLE AEROFOIL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 9. l9l8.

Patented June 25, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3.

A. CROSS.

MULTIPLE AEROFOIL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED APR.9, I918. Y 1,270,601 Patented June 25, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

FFIE

AUGUST GROSS, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

MULTIPLE AEROFOIL CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1918.

Application filed April 9, 1918. Serial No. 227,433.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUcUsT Onoss,a citizen of the United States,residing in Jersey City, county of Hudson, and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiple AerofoilConstructions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to multiple aerofoil construction for allaircraft purposes, and is shown embodied in a kite which may be used forobservation and other purposes, and raised from either land or the deckof a ship. It is intended to carry a considerable load,for example aman,to serve as an outlook for submarines.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and illustrating theprinciple of the invention in the best mode of applying that principlenow known to me,

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the kite shown in its normallyinclined position of flight.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the kite.

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view showing the upstanding front and rearstruts in crosssection at a line corresponding to line 33 of Fig. 6, andshows means for securing the load-carrying bar in place.

Fig. 4 illustrates in plan and edge view one of the anti-cuttingfixtures used in reinforcing the kite; and

Fig. 5 illustrates in plan and edge view another anti-cutting fixtureused in reinforcing the kite.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the kite.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view partially in section at a linecorresponding to line 77 of Fig. 2, and shows details of thereinforcement.

Fig. 8 shows in plan and edge view another of the reinforcementfixtures.

Fig. 9 is an elevational view, partly in section at a linecorrespondingto line 9-9 of Fig. 6, and shows the front and rear struts assembledwith ribs and with spars, and vertical lifting and diagonalreinforcements.

Fig. 10 is a plan view, partially in section at line 10-10 of Fig. 9.and further illustrates what is shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a front side view, partially in section, illustrating the.diagonal reinforcing devices.

Figs. 12, 13, 14 and 15 are elevations,

partly in section, further to illustrate the relation of the parts.

Fig. 12 being partially in section through a front strut, at line 12-12of Fig. 14., and showing a front spar in elevation.

Fig. 13 being partially in section through a back strut at line 13-13 ofFig. 15, and showing a back spar in elevation.

Fig. 14 being partially in section through a pair of adjacent ribs atline 14l14 of Fig. 9, and showing a front spar and front strut inelevation; and

Fig. 15 being partially in section through a pa1r of adjacent ribs atline 1515 of Fig. 9, and showing a back spar and aback strut inelevation.

Fig. 16 is a plan view showing portions of two fabric aerofoils in placeover a leading bar and a trailing wire, and rearwardly laced over thetrailing wire and also having their opposed edges laced together and toa pair of adjacent ribs, such opposed edges being carried past the sidesof a front strut and the back strut spaced apart from the front strut,and these two struts being shown in horizontal section.

Fig. 16 is a detail showing the folding and lacing of an aerofoil inplace.

Referring to the drawings, the kite as shown is made up of twotrapezoidal kite members 0, a secured edgewise together. the membershaving parallel bottoms and tops, and the bottoms being wider than thetops (Fig. 6). As indicated in Figs. 6, 9 and 10, each kite membercomprises a series of laterally alined upstanding front struts 1 spacedlaterally apart, behind each of which is an upstanding back strut 2parallel with a strut 1. Each front strut and the corresponding backstrut, herein referred to as a pair, are connected from between thefrontand back of the kite by a series of horizontal rows of ribs 3, eachrib being concavo-convex and tapering from its leading to its trailingend, and such rows of ribs being spaced apart from the bottom to the topof the kite. In its front and also in its rear end portion, each rib hasa transverse polygonal opening. The ribs are mounted with their concavesurfaces facing down, and they are best used in pairs one at one sideand the other at the other side of the pair of struts to which they areconnected by horizontal eross-sectionally polygonal front spars 4 and[back spars 5, these spars passing through form.

the polygonal holes in the ribs and therewith-registering polygonalholes formed in the struts, and extending from edge to edge of each kitemember. The assemblage is made with the front and back struts parallel,but at an angle of about to a straight portion of each kite member intoa series of rectangular spaces, and at each corner of each space one ofthe fixture eyes 17 pro j ects and each eye has hooked into it an end ofa reinforcement rod 20, the other end of which is threaded into atension collar 21 line drawn from tip to tip of a rib. A boir which isheld by a screw head 23 to a censhaped skeleton frame is thus made upfor-a kite or kite member, or more broadly as an aerofoil structure, outof a front series of upstanding struts, a parallel series of backstruts, a series of rows of ribs extending from front to back, a series.of horizontal front spars, anda series of horizontal back spars. Allsuch members will probably be made of wood, which maybe of laminated Thestruts are shown ovalish in cross-section to reduce resistance to theair.

The spars are shown square, and as shown the upper side of the back sparis flat and the upper side of the forward spar "is pitched. Adjacent andoutwardly of each pair of ribs the rear spar is provided with a pair ofmetal fixtures 6 (Fig. 5) each having a square opening 7 inits head,from the upper side of which a right-angular projecp The back spar 5passes through the hole 7 and theprojections .8'bear 1) on the upperside of the spar." The lower end portions ofthese fixtures arebent-togetherunder the forward edge of the back strut, and theregistering eyes 9 ofjthe tures receive the hooked end of a verticallifting wire 10. The lower end of the lifting wire is threaded into atensioning collar 11, the under end of which receives another spars,front end portions of the ribs, and.

front struts are connected in the upward direction with the-rear portionof the nextuppermost ribs, therear spars 5 and rear struts '2, and thissystem of tensionable lifting wire reinforcement is carried through eachkite member from top to bottom.

The front portion of eachkite member between the struts and the opposededgesof each rowof ribs 'is diagonally reinforced by the followingJdevices. Thethin sheet-metal fixtures 16 shown in Fig. 8' provided withwire-engaging eyes 17 and pinholes 18 are assembled flatwise in pairsthrough slots in the frontspars adjacent theribs and fixtures 6, theeyed heads projecting horizontally -in-opposite directions (Fig.7) andbeing pinned in place-by pins 19. The arrangement of the upstandingparallel struts and transverse front spars Qdivides .the fronttrallydisposed ring 24. Thus each quadrangular section is diagonallyreinforced by the adjustable tension rods 20 and collars 21,

giving great strength to .the front portion of the, kite members,-whichin connection with the vertic-allifting rod reinforcement system makeseach ,kite member very strong although its struts, ribs andspars,together with the horizontal leading bars 25 which are horizontallysecured to the front proj ecting ends of the ribs, one leading bar foreach row of ribs, are necessarily :made of light-weight material andpreferably, if not necessarily, of wood. The rear orgtail ends of theribs. in each row are transversely support in each row the sidemarginsof the aerofoils A shown aspiecesof fabric which are folded overthe leading bar and have their back ends laced over thetrailing .wire.At each pair ,of ribs the side edges of the aerofoils are laced to theribs. The lacing is indicated by 27. i

In the completed structure the framework above described supportsaplurality of rows of parallel aerofoils, spaced apart in theverticaldirection with the forward under .marginofeachaerofoil overhanging theleading edge of the next adjacent inferior aerofoil to obtain fresh air,as the aeronautic phrase is, for all the rows of aerofoils-for thesupport of the structure.

To securethe opposed edges ofthekite members together, the exterior flatfaces of the front and back struts 1 and2 of the two kites are flatwiseopposed as shown in Fig.

8, and secured together. While the kite may be made as one structure,yet as it is to be made in very large size it is convenient both formanufacture, for handling and for transportation, to make it of twosections as described. The structure is provided with a lifting bar 28.

Its front end is connected by two side braces 29 which severally extendangularly .to and are connected with a front edge of one of theupstanding struts in each kite member near its bottom. The front end 31of the load-carrying bar is also connected by an upstanding member 30the upper end of which is connected at 32 to the front of the kitestructure. The member 30, issteadied by divergent guy-wires 38 of which,three on each side are shown. These guy-wires are connected with the.member 30; extending therefrom transversely of the front faces of theassembled kite members to theoppositeiedges thereof (Figs. land 6). Theend 31 of the load-carrying bar is further sustained by a guy wire 34reaching from the end 31 to the upper front side of the structure towhich it is attached at 35. This load-carrying bar is secured to thelower portion of the structure midway between the outward edges asindicated in Fig. 3, the bar consisting of two supplementary membersplaced flatwise together and each having a rearward extension 36 whichembraces the two abutted front struts l of the members, and also the twoabutted rear struts 2 of the kite members. A filling block 37 is placedbetween the extension 36 intermediate the opposed edges of the abuttedfront and back struts, and the extensions 36 are secured to such strutsand to the intermediate filling block by transverse fasteners 38,similar fasteners being used thereabove to secure the so-abutted frontand back struts together from the bottom to the top of the kite when itis made of two members detachably connected together.

An observer or any desired apparatus can be carried suspended from thebar 28 in any desired manner, and ropes, wires or the like may besecured to the structure as required for use in raising it from land orshipboard when and if the structure is used as a kite. The structure isone which may be ,used in connection with aeroplanes.

What I claim is,

1. An aeroplane structure comprising, in combination, a series of frontstruts; a corresponding series of back struts; a series of rows ofconcavo-convex ribs; a series of transverse front spars; and a series oftransverse back spars; the ribs connecting the front and back spars, andsaid spars also connecting the ribs and struts; the struts and ribsbeing fixed together with the concave edges of the ribs downward, thestruts inclining downwardly and rearwardly relatively to a planeintersecting the under ends of each series of ribs; a leading bartransverse to the front ends of each series of ribs; a trailing wiretransverse to the rear ends of each series of ribs; a series of verticaltension rods severally connecting a forward connection of a rib, frontspar and front strut with a rear connection of a rib, back spar and backstrut; and at the forward portion of the several quadrangular spacesformed by an upper rib, a lower rib, two front spars and two frontstruts, a central coupling from which four diagonally-disposedreinforcing wires extend into connection with the corner unions at eachsuch space, which unions are severally formed by the connection of afront strut, a front spar, and a front end portion of a rib.

2. In the structure of claim 1, the front spars decreasing in lengthupwardly in the series, and the front and back struts being arranged inpairs, one pair parallel to the other.

3. In the structure of claim 1, a series of sheet-metal plate fixturespassing through the front spars, each plate having a receiving eye foran end of one of the diagonal reinforcements from the central coupling.

1. In the structure of claim 1, a series of sheet-metal plate fixturesmounted bodily in the front spars, each plate having an upper exposedeye and an under exposed eye, each eye being connected with an end ofone of said diagonal reinforcements, and each such diagonalreinforcement comprising lengthwise tens'ioning means. a

5. In the structure of claim 1, the vertical lifting wires beingconnected at each end adjacent a connection of a rib, strut and spar tothe end of a fixture provided at its other end with a polygonal openingfor passage of a spar therethrough, the fixture comprising adjacent saidopening a flat, angular extension bearing on a wall of the spar.

6. In the structure of claim 1, the vertical lifting wires beingconnected at each end adjacent a connection of a rib, strut and spar tothe end of a fixture provided at its other end with a polygonal openingfor passage of a spar therethrough, the fixture comprising adjacent saidopening a flat, angular extension bearing on a wall of the spar; eachvertical lifting wire comprising in its length means for tensioning itlengthwise.

7. In the structure of claim 1, a forwardlyprojecting load-carrying barand bracing means connecting the bar with the structure.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of April,1918.

AUGUST CROSS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

